some mid-week workouts

after this past weekends race ive felt so excited to train. its great when it comes so easy. most of the time you train because you have to, but it feel great to train entirely because i want to. i felt like a kid on christmas before last nights workout! i wish i had more bodies so i could workout all day. -now theres the future of fitness: pay someone like me to somehow control your body for an hour a day and get into the best shape of your life.
 last week i used a plyo workout to get sharp for my race, but as i did it i realized that it would be awesome to use the same routine as a hard leg day. so with a few small modifications to it, heres what i came up with:

>1 mile WU
>10 mins AMRAP(as many rounds as possible): 6 alternating single leg depth jumps over a box, 6 split jumps, 6 burpees
>3X 10 narrow back squats (bodyweight or above for the weight)
>8-6-6 narrow front squats (same weight as back squat)
>ankle circles for hip abductors (start with 20 each way on each leg and do as many sets as it takes to make your hip feel like its gona fall off)

i got just under 10 rounds for the AMRAP part. id like to replace the depth jumps with single leg lateral jumps for the sake of keeping the intensity high, i lost momentum when i had to get back onto the bench after each rep.
another workout that ive been planning is 500 split jumps for time, but ive been enjoying being able to sit on a toilet seat without crying, so ill probly put it off til next week.

heres the workout planned for tonight, a tempo hill build up:
>4 mins slow on full incline (about 14% on my treadmill)
>4 mins moderate on full incline
>20-24 mins hard tempo effort on full incline
>4 min CD
last time i did this workout i only did 16 minutes at the fastest speed, and only 8 the time before. but physilogically theres not much of a difference between 16 minutes and and hour and 16 minutes, so its just a matter of confidence to get to that point.

my legs have earned one more day before i tear them up again, but my arms are gona die tonight!

its two days after the race and the soreness is completely gone from my legs at this point, but i had a good race, so they can rest one more day. heres my running specific arm workout from tonight:
-on the mill at easy pace and small (about 4%) incline, and running the whole time of course
>8 mins w/1 lb handweights
>2 mins w/out weights
>10X 30sec w/8lb handweights: 30sec w/out weights
>4 mins to relax and cool down
24 minutes total running, a bit over 3 miles
still nothing too intense, but ive been excited for tomorrows workout since i finished the race on sunday -its gona be a good time. (check back for it in a day or two)

Crossroads of Indiana Half Marathon (aka: another-nother night in the car)

the drive down was pretty good, picked up David at his dorm at U of I (university of illinois champaign-urbana) then left for Lowell Indiana, which was thankfully much more urban than i expected. for example, there were more than 20 buildings in this town unlike the last few that ive raced in. to be serious, i liked the feel of Lowell: rural with nice people, but not so rural that people look at you weird if you from the outside world.
after we arrived, we explored a bit and took care of the essentials. it was too late for anything to be open, so we bought bottled water out of a vending machine outside an apartment complex. and after finding no better place to park the car for the night, we decided to sleep at Freedom Park, the site of the race.
i quickly found out that for the exceptionally fit person he is, my friend David snores a bit. usually the unhealthier the person the quieter they sleep, so that was rather surprising. but i didnt plan on getting any sleep either way. ive probly averaged less than two hours of sleep the night before my last four races, but surprisingly im pretty sure i got closer to three and a half this time.
i hate blogs dedicated to rants about stuff people dont like, and i did enjoy the race, but there were a few problems. first off, i signed up for this race early, and as is the case all to often at races, they gave the small shirts away to race-day sign-up's and left me with a sheet of paper that said i signed up to get a small and and apathetic non-athlete telling me that there are none left. its not that big of a deal, except two things. first, im 5'6" and about 4% bodyfat at 127 pounds, so a medium makes me look less like an athlete and more like a skinny kid in hand-me-downs. second, it doesnt matter how proud i am of the race, im not risking chafed nips by working out in a loose shirt. im not a runner that has to match when i workout, but i dont wana look like a complete clown, for the sake of all runners -we gota dress decent enough to still look ok when were running down the roads half dead with GU dripping down our chins.

pom-blueberry Roctane after a brief warmup.
it funny how many looks i get with this hoodie, but its
just my thing now i guess

the next problem was shortly after i picked up my shirt. i joined the line for the porta-potties with what i thought to be plenty of time to spare. after almost 20 minutes i had made my way to the front of the line, only to see most of the people behind me, and thankfully some people in front of me, leaving to head for the starting line. it was 7:29 when a stall opened up for me, and the race was to start at 7:30. for some reason i can poop in seconds when i have all the time n the world to do it, but i seem to get performance anxiety when i have to go fast. plus there was about 300 meters between me and the start line still, so it wasnt a successful bathroom visit. sure i could have got in line sooner and actually gotten to go, but there were about 30 people that were left with extra weight during the race. im assuming that means that the race director is either not a runner, or didnt expect that much of crowd, i hope the latter for his sake. the two rules(as i have discovered, and i know many agree) of directing a race: there are never enough smalls and there are never enough bathrooms.
other than that my only other complaint is the lack of mile markers on the course, there were none, and the lack of voluteers at one of the more important intersections of the race. the course overall was very well marked with cones, but one of the turns had no signs or volunteers to direct us and the line of cones went straight forward, so i followed them (and the runner in front of me) only to realize that i must have been part of the marathon course. it turned out that there were indeed cones concealed somewhat by trees. ugh, enough bitching.
as i ran past my car on the way to the start line, i turned a few heads as i "got naked." im pretty sure i startled at least a few people with my short-shorted, arm-warmered, and shirtless self, not only at the start, but also at the aid stations. but considering that it was about 45 degrees at 7:30 and probably 55 degrees by 9:00, i was glad i went with just the arm-warmers. if your arms are warm, then your hands are warm.
the start was fast. i didnt use my forerunner for this one, so i had to just go with the pack. we had to have been at or below 6 minutes for the first mile. but by mile four i had settled into my pace and fighting the biggest battle of my race: the battle with my rectum. for the first half of the race it was stable enough and i was able to reel the kid (he was in my age group -under 19) in front of me in. im sorry, but if you need an ipod to run well, then you shouldnt be racing, period. i say that because this kid was using one and i know for certain that the website and registration info said 'no ipods.' plus, its just disrespectful to your competition and to the people that cheer for you that you dont care enough to have your ears open for a race. -so i had to pass him on principle. each hill we went over(and there were quite a few) i gained about 5-10 meters on him and breezed past him as the course opened up by the lake around mile six. but then it was right back in to the battle of my rectum. by mile nine or so two guys from behind me were pushing up to my side and as i tried to follow i realized that i couldnt wait til the finish line: this was gona happen now. so i saw an old newspaper on the side of the road and ducked about 20 feet of the road by the treeline and took care of buisiness. it only cost me about 30 seconds, but i never made up the time, and it didnt make me feel that much better. i was however able to stay with the guy that caught up to me during those 30 seconds, so i figured it would be good enough. me and that guy ended up taking the wrong turn together and an older guy passed us because of it. both of them finished in front of me. by the end i was pretty trashed and somewhat hopeless about the race as a whole: the unexpected hills and 30 mile per hour wind, the porta-potty situation, the lack of mile markers. i try to control everything i can with races and i feel thats one of the things that helps me run with people that are more talented than me, but i felt pretty derailed by this point. then, in the last 100 meters of the race, i saw the clock at the finish line: "1:26." all that and i had still PR'ed. not by the margin i had wanted, but enough to feel alright about the race, and in with those conditions thats not a horrible time for me.
im still not running up to my potential for the half marathon distance, but its only my second one ever. i feel that a sub-1:20 is something that i need to focus on in the next few months.
David had a good race as well, exceeding what he expected of himself, and that was amazing. seeing a runner calculate there pace in a race they just finished and realizing that they did better than they even hoped for is a beautiful thing. congratulations David.
ive decided against racing next weekend to allow myself to get some heavy training in. i need to get some longer tempo work in and some crippling lifting workouts in before the marathon on the 30th and i have some great workouts planned already. and if i can race a 10k between then and now, ill do it.
pics soon.

thoughts going into the Crossroads of Indiana Half Marathon

the more i think about it, the more uneasy im getting. ive had a pretty hard week of training, but i havnt really tapered for any of my last few races, so its nothing new. i just feel tired. luckly i have a friend (David Tkac) coming along for his first half marathon(which isnt a big deal by itself, but its one of only 3 races hes ever run, and the other two were more than a year ago), so thatll make the going much easier, knowing that other people are more screwed than you is comforting. i dont care who you are or what youre doing, as long as other people are worse off, everything is fine. at the same time, hes excitement and nerves should help me to remember why i love doing this to myself so much. plus, in the back of my head ive been wondering what kind of runners are gona show up to this thing: a top 5 place is definitely something to help motivate me, however my number one goal is to run 1:25 or faster. judging by my 1:29 in the crazy wind and slight hills of Delavan, a perfectly smooth and covered course should yield a 1:25 or better without too much luck.
i took an ice bath today and i hoping it helps a bit: my right foot has been bothering me some after runs for a few weeks now, but it wasnt until last night that it hurt while running. maybe im just actually getting nervous for this one.

my light plyo workout from last night:
>1 mile w/ 1 lb handweights
>3 rounds w/1 min rest in between: 6 alternating single leg depth jumps, 6 split jumps, 6 burpees

depending on how things go in Lowell this weekend, i may very well be running a sub-3 marathon attempt in a week in southern Indiana. -if things go wrong, then another half marathon might be a better option, but for now, i got this race is less than 33 hours and thats as far as i should be trying to think.

the most delicious smoothie ever made

raw kale is hands down the single greatest thing you can eat if you want the most out of your body, so it makes it into all of my smoothies. it has a negligible glycemic load and a vitamin/mineral spectrum that can challenge multivitamins. also, for athletes, it can drastically reduce inflammation and increase recovery between workouts. the problem is that the dark green, almost brown, tint that it gives the smoothie isnt very appealing to most people. and the taste isnt exactly the greatest either, nor is the smell. but recently ive created two smoothies that have blown me away: great taste, good smell, and they dont simply mask the kale taste like most smoothies try to, in my opinion they wouldnt taste as great without it.
the first one was a few days ago and the second was just a this morning, both of them are amazing:

-the 'smooth banana smoothie'
>1 cup Bolthouse vanilla chai tea
>3 stalks of red kale* (mostly de-stemmed)
>2 bananas

-'chocolate banana cant-even-taste-the-health bliss'
>about 3/4 cup of water and soy milk (half water: half soy milk)
>6 ice cubes
>two bananas
>2 table spoons of Nutella
>2 stalks of red kale (mostly de-stemmed)

the 'smooth banana smoothie' is just sweet enough and just light enough to be drank alone or with food. since there isnt any ice in it, it can be put in a Nalgene and taken on the go wihtout worrying about how its gona taste an hour after its made like most smoothies. it would be a perfect post workout drink due to the high protein and easy digestion.
the chocolate banana one is a gift to runners and athletes everywhere. just try it, youll love it. the taste is amazing and the glycemic load is about as low as it can be. im confident its the best smoothie the earth has ever seen.
*get red kale, do NOT get green kale for smoothies. bad idea unless you like drinking things that taste horrible and arent as healthy for you.